Holy shit! Colt 1905!
 

Well, in spite of my promise to myself not to buy any more guns this year, I had one come up I just couldn't say no to. It's a Colt 1905 Military automatic, which was the first .45 ACP pistol. It was made for US army trials and was a big step on the evolution of the 1911 - this is the gun which competed against the Luger and Savage in the initial trials (the field trials between Colt and Savage was the 1907, but that's another story).

The really cool thing is one of the major reasons Colt was so successful in the trials is that they could deliver pistols with interchangable parts at a much lower per-unit cost than Savage. DWM took the Luger out of the competition because they weren't willing to tool up to make 200 pistols without a guaranteed return for their investment. Savage hand-made 200 pistols, which meant a much higher per-unit cost and the non-interchangable parts gave no end of trouble in trials.

Colt, on the other hand, had the brilliant idea of having the same shop that was working on the new pistol make a small run of 1905s for commercial sale to cover their costs, meaning they could deliver a semi-mass-produced (but hand finished) gun at a fraction of Savage's cost. That had more than a little to do with their winning the competition.

Because the 1905 wasn't (and was never intended to be) a fully mass-produced gun, it has a few neat features. Most importantly the grips - which are literally the single worst-made item Colt has ever put out. The guys making them were either apprentices or the actual engineers on the military development project - either way they're BAD. And that's really cool to me.

Anyways, one came up on my favorite buy / sell board and I absolutely had to have it - particularly when I was sent the information from the factory letter, which states that it was one of a small shipment to Colt's London agency in 1911 specifically-ordered with lanyard loops. The final purchaser isn't known but it's believed to have been a trial run for the British army. It's also British commercial-proofed, as any firearm coming into the country that wasn't directly a military contract had to me.

I'm really excited - a Colt 1905 was on my top-5 list of (realistic) guns to own before I die. It wasn't cheap by any stretch but it's worth it!

It looks like a poorly drawn M1911.

Nice! Is it in shootable condition?

Oh, it's definately in shootable condition, but I won't be shooting it, at least with commercial ammo. It's designed for a 200 grain bullet going about 700fps, and the locking wedge is a definate weak point in the design. There's a whole subset of collecting guns with factory replacement slides (this one is original) because shooting them with the 230 grain ammo intended for the 1911 tends to cause cracking in the slide.

I was just asking if you COULD shoot it if you felt like it, not are you going to shoot it.

I didn't even know there was a such thing as a 1905.

It's not in your nature to be complimentary or even positive is it? That's is one heck of a find.

On the other hand way to go Nyles. That specimen is in excellent condition. The old parallel ruler Colt autos are great pistols. I compare them to a Bulldog. So ugy they look good.

For those who care (and appreciate the great old guns) Colt only manufactured 6,100 Model 1905's. The production run was from 1905 - 1911. But it really didn't gear up until 1906. And yes this is a John Browning design.

Truly a great collector's piece. Congratulations.

What Checkman said. That is one heck of a find. :cool:

Though I gotta admit POI's comment about it looking like a poorly drawn 1911 did make me chuckle. ;)

You have a poor sense of humor.

Thanks Checkman - I knew you if anyone would appreciate it. I've always been first and foremost a British military collector (which is what made the British proofs on this so exciting...) but ever since I got my 1903 Pocket Hammer I've found myself more and more drawn to the parallel-ruler Colts. They're not actually really great guns, but they're really neat and I also find them oddly attractive - and I really like the .38 ACP. Definately looking for a 1902 Military now.

Incidentally, I took the 1903 to the range for the first time earlier this week. Had a few failures to eject (one bad one where I had to tap the case out of the chamber with a piece of dowling), but I can't say I'm shocked, since I was using PCI ammo and it's not great. Shot quite high as well, but it was still a very fun shooter.

I've shot all of my old timers at least once. It's a connection to history. I can't help but put a few rounds through them. But like you I don't get them for recreational shooting. I've got guns for that. The old timers are just neat to own.

Once again congratulations.

Actually, in response to the poorly-drawn 1911 comment (which I can actually kind see), here's a breakdown of the evolution of the "fighting" Colt auto - this doesn't include the more commercial versions of the parallel-ruler Colt, namely the 1902 Sporting and 1903 Pocket Hammer. Photos courtesy of coltautos.com, the Unblinking Eye Gun Pages (highly recommended for lovers of obscure old pistols) and Rock Island Auction.

Colt 1900 Navy - The original model, in .38 ACP with a 6" barrel, high-spur hammer and with the "sight safety", in which the rear sight was also the safety - you press it down out of sight, which locks the firing pin and puts the gun on safe. It was not popular. Tested by the US Navy and US Army, sold commercially in very small numbers.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...colt1900SS.jpg

Colt 1900 Second Army Contract - Deleted the sight safety and added checkering to the grips, changed the front slide checkering to rear serrations, used in field trials in the Phillipines. 4274 1900s of both models were made.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...lt1900noSS.jpg

Colt 1902 Military - Extended the grip frame, added a lanyard ring and slide hold-open. Early models had front slide checkering and a round hammer, later ones had rear serrations and a low spur hammer. Almost all had hard rubber grips like all commercial Colts of the era, the wood grips on the one pictured were special ordered. Field tested by the army and sold in fairly large numbers commercially. 18,068 made between 1902 and 1929 (estimated).
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...itaryround.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...litaryspur.jpg

Colt 1905 Military - The first .45 ACP, detailed above. Also the first with a 5" instead of 6" barrel. Early ones had the round hammer, later ones like mine had the low spur. Tested in small numbers by the US Army and selected for further development.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...1905RoundL.jpg

Colt 1907 Army - Added the grip safety and a loaded chamber indicator. 207 made.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...31Mod1907L.jpg

Colt 1909 Army - Changed to the swinging-link barrel with slide bushing, added a manual safety on the left side, got rid of the loaded chamber indicator. 42 made.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...1LNEW2silo.jpg

Colt 1910 Army - Changed the angle of the grip to the 74 degrees we all know and love. Still has the safety on the right and a different shape to the slide cut-out. 12 made.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...lts/1910_5.jpg

Thanks again - I try to shoot all of my guns at least once as well - I just need to work up the courage to shoot my Webely 1910 now. I just REALLY don't want to fuck up a gun they made under 1000 of....

Although, on that note, I find it amusing that, particularly in the US, both the Colt 1905 (6100 made) and my .455 1911 (at least 11,000 made) go for more than a Webley 1910 (about 700 made). Rarity and desirability don't always exactly equal.

Very true. And I do agree that in terms of ergonomics and esthetics the parallel ruler Colts left something to be desired.But it's more about the importance and significance of the model that is important. Guess POI's posting just caught me at a bad moment.

It arrived today - very definately refinished, but that's not uncommon with these, as the original oil-quenched blue was somewhat delicate. And for a rare gun like this I'm willing to live with it!

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/SDC10173.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/SDC10174.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...3/SDC10170.jpg

Very nice.

It looks like the .45's ugly stepsister.

Older sister or even mother would probably be a closer metaphor.

Oh crap dude, that's another great purchase.